More than a month has passed since the poisoning of former Colonel GRU Sergey Skripal and his daughter Julia, but the British investigation is still unable to provide the public with direct evidence of Russia's guilt in this incident.

Despite during this period a large number of analysis and inspections were carried out, dozens of witnesses were interviewed, and one of the main victims has already been discharged from the hospital, the governments and media of European and North American countries continue to follow the pre-planned course and uncritically accuse Moscow of the incident.

The next thrashing of anti-Russian hysteria was the statements of British Prime Minister Theresa May. With her submission "in response to aggression" 23 Russian diplomats were expelled from the UK. As a sign of "solidarity" with London, similar actions followed from other countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada. At the same time, before agreeing to accusations against Moscow, the authorities of these states did not conduct an independent analysis of the incident in Salisbury and did not even try to demand from official London reliable information about it.

For example, journalist Geir Tyufteland of the Norwegian online publication "Resett" in his article "Erna Sulberg and Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide: present the evidence or leave!" noted the prejudice of the statements of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Norway about the "Skripal case". According to him, instead of supporting the position of Britain and groundless accusations against Russia, the Norwegian government should inform the public about what specific evidence they received from the British. Otherwise, according to the journalist, sacred for Europeans the principle of presumption of innocence will be violated. In addition, Tyufteland points to the "crowd effect" in the issue of anti-Russian solidarity in Europe and accuses the authorities of their country of "immoral following the partners in the alliance and not taking into account what they are speaking for".

Another Norwegian journalist Paul Steigan in the pages of the Internet discussion site caught the United Kingdom in falsifying evidence against Russia. He noted that Theresa May embarked on the path of her predecessor, Tony Blair, and blamed her political authority, saying that Moscow was "highly likely" behind the assassination attempt on Sergey Skripal and his daughter. However, she did not provide any evidence and did not organize the necessary procedures in such cases provided by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Journalists from the Ron Paul Institute also write about provocative actions. In their opinion, a weak evidence base and inconsistencies in the investigation of the "Skripal case" testify to the desire of the British government to rally around itself the European public against the background of existing economic, political problems and disagreements. Experts point out that the "amateurish" approach to using such a strong poison as "Novichok" indicates an obviously prepared frame-up.

The voice of the common sense also sounds from Austria. The journalist of the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Christian Stafflinger, in his article stresses the emergence of a new version of the Cold War. According to him, the European Union is gradually becoming a branch of the United States, especially in the field of anti-Russian policy. The United States appointed Britain as their deputy in Europe and through their friend on the other side of the Atlantic seek to project political influence on the entire European continent. In addition, he called surprising the fact that Europe is almost instantly ready to impose another package of sanctions on Russia, based only on unfounded accusations. At the same time, the author notes that peaceful Europe is possible only in a dialogue with Russia, but not without her.

Stafflinger colleague Gerhard Mitrovic, in turn, stresses that the British specifically provoke a scandal in order to divert attention from their internal political situation in conjunction with the existing problems of Brexit. According to him, every day there are new movements advocating the preservation of the country within the EU, and now the British government came up with the "channel" to translate a high degree of public discontent.

A representative of the same newspaper, Jürgen Yauch, compares the current situation and sanctions against Russia with the spectacular theatrical performance "Twelve Angry Men". In this regard, in his article he cites the words of the former EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen: "In general, sanctions should be based on facts and not assumptions. The argument in the Skripal case reminds me of the verdict under the motto: "The crime of the accused is not proven, but he is capable of it!".

The topic of anti-Russian sanctions was also reflected in the article of the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. Deputies of the "Left Alliance" party, Lee Anderson and Markus Mustajarvi, share criticism on this issue with the former Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. According to them, the accusations against Russia should have a legal basis, and not be based only on suspicions and, moreover, should not be an excuse for imposing sanctions. In addition, the article reflects the position of the leadership of the True Finn Party, which links the expulsion of Russian diplomats with the desire of most EU countries to "please" London.

In the same context, in an interview with the Repubblica newspaper, Italian MP from the North League, Julio Pikki, said that there was no need for the expulsion of Russian diplomats. He also noted that the crime with the use of neuromuscular gas seems unrealistic, because such an action automatically hits the highest political leadership of Russia, which seeks to establish a dialogue with the West countries.

The former defense minister of the Czech Republic, General Miroslav Kostelka, agrees with this opinion. On the pages of the Slovak Internet publication "Parliamentary Affairs" he said that the Russian leadership "is not stupid" and fully aware that the assosination attempt on Sergey Skripal will only complicate the already tense relations between Russia and the West. According to the general, the cliche "Putin did it" is so primitive that it turned out to be a level of outspoken anti-Russian propaganda.

Ex-advisor at the office of the Greek PM Andreas Papandreou on Arms Control and East-West relations Dimitras Konstantakopoulos in his commentary for the Greek edition "Amna" noted the similarity of the current situation with the worst periods of the Cold War, when groundless accusations put the world on the brink of a full-scale war. He noted that in recent years the collective West in the best traditions of "McCarthyism" and "witch-hunting" continues to "demonize" the image of Russia. In his view, such a position plays into the hands of those Western countries, whose leadership seeks to increase military spending and "tighten the screws" inside its own state.

The same opinion is expressed by the leadership of the Portuguese Communist Party. An official statement appeared on the official website of the party, which notes the role of the governments of some NATO countries in escalating tensions between Russia and the alliance. In the opinion of the Portuguese Communists, the escalation of the tense situation in relations with Russia is taking place against the background of the US demand to increase the expenditures on the national defense of all the countries participating in the North Atlantic bloc.

The catastrophic consequences of the provocative policies of Western countries are stated in the article of Mari Eifring for the Norwegian edition of "Klassekampen". The author notes that the lower requirements for the evidence base in making serious political decisions are similar to the accusation of the Iraqi leadership in using chemical weapons. Eifring recalls that this was the reason for the invasion of this country with subsequent negative consequences for the entire Middle East. At the same time, subsequently, representatives of the US and British leadership confessed to the absence of any serious evidence of the presence the chemical agents in Iraq.

Writer Nikolay Lilin shared his opinion about the incident in Salisbury on the pages of the newspaper "Libero". He, like Mari Eifring, recalls the story of the falsification of accusations against Iraq and calls the "Skripal case" a serious act of sabotage directed against Moscow. Lilin notes that this attempt is made by the British government, which seeks to split the relations between the West and Russia. Against this backdrop, the writer recommends that the Italian leadership proceed to a more independent policy and be guided by credible facts when making important decisions.

Unfortunately, the anti-Russian policies of Britain and her allies may lead to further reduction of mutual trust and to the impossibility of jointly solving common security problems in the world. Currently, there is an approach to the point of "no return" in the relations of Russia and Western countries. However, against the background of deafening anti-Russian hysteria, the "voices of common sense" of European politicians and media representatives are still being heard, objectively considering the Salisbury incident and the general geopolitical situation in the world. As the Italian deputy from the party "Forward Italy!" Stefano Maullu stated in this regard, the policy of Russophobia finally took root in Europe. When the West understands her mistake, it may be too late.